I have had a 75 gallon cichlid tank that has been set up for about a year. I have never had ANY issues with my fish or water until about two weeks ago. I changed out my filters in my canister filter on a Wednesday and then on Saturday I did approx 30% water change. I also have a HOB filter that has been running for the past few months and I did not change that filter media...just FYI. SOOOO...on the Sunday following the water change I noticed that my water was very cloudy, which is unusal for the tank. I check my water parameters and my Ammonia and Nitrates were off the charts. I freaked out!! I did a lot of research and did 20% water changes 3 days in a row and the ammonia has now decreased a lot but is still at .50ppm. and the nitrates are still high. I have also lost 3-4 LARGE cichlids in the past couple of days. I did another water change tonight (Saturday) since I have not done one since Monday. After the water change, I turned my filters back on and 1000's of tiny white worms where flushed into the tank from the filters. I was mortified. After about 40 mins of the tank running the worms have dissipated (i guess back into the filters) and the also the fish ate a lot of them, and then almost immediately,, I have one fish die and several others are flashing around the tank acting distressed. Please help. I have NEVER had such issues with a tank before.
75 gallon issues!
- Thread starter KatyL
- Start date
Lots of questions....
What was the exact stocking before adding new fish?
What were the 3-4 LARGE fish you added?
Were they QT'd first?
You mention ammonia and nitrates as being off the charts...what were the exact readings?
From a good liquid test kit?
What was nitrite?
pH?
Have you checked your tap water to see if it has changed? What is it currently.
Are you positive it was worms and not just biofilm busted loose from the canister cleaning?
It could be that the filter cleaning caused more bacteria loss than expected and you are getting somewhat of a bloom.
What is your normal water change frequency and size?
What was the exact stocking before adding new fish?
What were the 3-4 LARGE fish you added?
Were they QT'd first?
You mention ammonia and nitrates as being off the charts...what were the exact readings?
From a good liquid test kit?
What was nitrite?
pH?
Have you checked your tap water to see if it has changed? What is it currently.
Are you positive it was worms and not just biofilm busted loose from the canister cleaning?
It could be that the filter cleaning caused more bacteria loss than expected and you are getting somewhat of a bloom.
What is your normal water change frequency and size?
Ok, to start answering your questions:
It is an African cichlid tank, and I was not adding any new fish. The 4 that died where established fish that have been in that tank for a year.
Yes I'm using a liquid test kit and here are the readings as of this morning:
Ammonia-.50ppm (decreased drastically over past week)
Nitrites- .25-.50ppm
nitrates- 10-20ppm (and this has gone down over the past week)
pH-7.8
Temp-80-81
No changes in tap water, and yes those are worms, not bio film! They were wiggling in the water!
I usually do a water change once every 3 weeks or so with gravel cleaning, but I've done several the past two weeks due to the ammonia/nitrate issue. And my normal water change is 30-35%.
It is an African cichlid tank, and I was not adding any new fish. The 4 that died where established fish that have been in that tank for a year.
Yes I'm using a liquid test kit and here are the readings as of this morning:
Ammonia-.50ppm (decreased drastically over past week)
Nitrites- .25-.50ppm
nitrates- 10-20ppm (and this has gone down over the past week)
pH-7.8
Temp-80-81
No changes in tap water, and yes those are worms, not bio film! They were wiggling in the water!
I usually do a water change once every 3 weeks or so with gravel cleaning, but I've done several the past two weeks due to the ammonia/nitrate issue. And my normal water change is 30-35%.
How many, of what type cichlids? There are many forms of cichlids, most requiring different water needs. 30-35% every 3 weeks sounds pretty low, IMO. Depending on initial levels before the WC and filter cleaning, you could have shocked the tank....
I agree with bob. With the water changes every 3 weeks, it does sound quite possible you shocked the tank
You'd have to be stocked with just a few small fish in a 75g tank for a ~30% every ~3 week water change schedule to work. What type of biological filtration media do you use? It sounds like you don't have nearly enough bio media, and the little you disrupted during the filter maintenance left the tank with no means to process ammonia.
I wouldn't do less than a 50% weekly water change and I'd get some additional bio media going. Pond Matrix for your canister or the likes. Filters as simple as sponge bubblers can be great bio filters.
I wouldn't do less than a 50% weekly water change and I'd get some additional bio media going. Pond Matrix for your canister or the likes. Filters as simple as sponge bubblers can be great bio filters.
It's very possible that your tap water was more heavily chlorinated or treated than normal and the water change actually caused the problem. Water companies do not inform the public of when changes are made and well systems are increasingly unstable sources of water.
The little worms are harmless nematodes that feed on excess organic matter in the aquarium (very similar to the microworms that people use to feed fry). This does indicate that there is an excess of organic material in the system (overfeeding/infrequent filter changes).
I would recommend aging your tap water for 24-48 hours in the future or using a better quality tap water conditioner to treat your tap water.
Andy
The little worms are harmless nematodes that feed on excess organic matter in the aquarium (very similar to the microworms that people use to feed fry). This does indicate that there is an excess of organic material in the system (overfeeding/infrequent filter changes).
I would recommend aging your tap water for 24-48 hours in the future or using a better quality tap water conditioner to treat your tap water.
Andy
